Falling thoughts

The last day of November to me represents the end of fall, though I realize that officially the first day of winter is actually yet a few weeks away on December 21. While I love the Christmas season and all that it entails, it feels bittersweet to me for fall to be coming to a close. I love fall. It's always been my favorite time of the year. It meant going back to school - which I always loved. It's the return of sweater and boot weather, which makes me feel cozy. The air smells clean and crisp as the cooler winds start to blow through. The leaves change into vibrant hues of red and brown, rust and gold. There are bonfires and hayrides and caramel apples. I could go on and on, but the thing I love most about fall is that to me more than any other season it symbolizes change.

By its very definition, autumn is a time of transition. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines autumn as "the season between summer and winter..." as well as "a period of maturity or incipient decline". Old things have to pass away so new growth can later take their place. To me there's such beauty in that change.That's true of us as well.

Change can be incredibly hard. It can be cold and feel lonely and dark - like the longer, colder nights that come along this time of year. But there's a beauty in letting go of old ways - whether it's a bad habit, unhealthy relationships, fears, old hurts, etc. Letting go of those things that are holding us back refines who we are and leaves us open to new blessings that grow in their place - better health, new friendships, courage gathered from taking a leap of faith, forgiveness, mercy and hope.

Sometimes the things God asks us to let go of are things that are in and of themselves good - our health, loved ones who pass on, dreams for our lives that are positive but that don't line up with God's plans for us....Those things are much harder to release, and the process can be painful as we struggle against doing so. Yet even in those times when letting go costs us dearly and we question why, I've found it to be true that in the end the transformation is always for our best and God's glory. We learn to trust more in our Heavenly Father when we can't trust in our own frail strength. We grow in relationship with God when ones we love are gone or let us down. We find new dreams that far exceed what we could have imagined on our own. And through it all, we become more like Christ.

It's such an amazing process God does in our lives -- this process of transformation and refinement -- and I'm so thankful to have seen that to be true during changes in my own life, especially the hardest ones. Every single time God has brought me through. Old things in my life have fallen away like those red and gold leaves on the trees, and after I've truly let them go and let myself be refined, new growth has sprouted up, often more abundant and vibrant than the old ever was.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.... A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away..." Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6